The puck is sent deep into the Ranger zone. Mike Richter moves out of his net to trap the puck. He then leaves either it for a defenseman or freezes it for a defensive zone draw.

The puck is sent deep into the Ranger zone. Kirk McLean skates out of his net to play the puck up to a teammate and initiate a breakout out of the defensive zone.

“With Mike, his back is to the play so we’re always yelling at him to let him know what to do with the puck,” Brian Leetch was saying before last night’s Garden match against Carolina. “With Kirk, though, he’s looking back over his shoulder as he goes to play the puck, so he knows the forecheck pattern, he can see whether there’s a line change we can take advantage of. It’s almost like having another defenseman back there.

“It’s definitely an advantage to Kirk’s game.”

With Richter out of the lineup for what the Rangers hope is no more than another 10 days while he rehabs his back, McLean has inherited the No. 1 goaltending assignment. He was extremely sharp in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Ottawa, even if the Ranger coaching staff credited the Senators with just six prime scoring chances. He moved well, challenging shooters, keeping his angles.

“I guess I am the classic stand-up goaltender,” said the 33-year-old McLean, now in his 13th NHL season. “But I can butterfly when it’s appropriate to butterfly.

“Mike stands up, too, but he’s a little more aggressive in challenging shooters than I am. What my style means more than anything, in standing up more than other goaltenders, is that I’m not going to make as many flashy-looking saves. But that’s all right with me.

“I think any goalie wants to stay on his feet as long as he can, at least that’s the way I was taught, and that’s the way I’ve played my whole career. Of course, you have to move for the puck also, but that’s understood.”

McLean on Tuesday became the first goaltender ever to play for both the Rangers and Devils. Drafted by New Jersey out of Oshawa in the sixth round and 107th overall in 1984 (the same year the Devils selected Craig Billington 23d overall, a year after they drafted Chris Terreri and a year before they selected Sean Burke), McLean got into six games in two years before being traded in September of 1987 to Vancouver with Greg Adams for Patrik Sundstrom.

Indeed, McLean credits Max McNab, then the Devils’ GM, for urging him to work on moving the puck.

“It had been part of my game in junior, but Max encouraged me to work on that aspect when I was in Jersey,” the goaltender said. “He told me how much of an edge that can be for a team, so it’s something I’ve pretty much always been aware of.”

While Sundstrom was leading the Devils to the seventh game of the 1988 Cup semifinals, McLean and Adams were establishing themselves out west. In 1994, they were key components to the Canucks’ drive to the seventh game of the Cup Finals.

“You don’t get a lot of visibility in this league if you play in the west,” McLean said on Thursday. “The best thing that ever happened to the Canucks was not only getting to the Finals, but getting to the Finals against the Rangers.

“The exposure playing against New York was great for the franchise.”

Rangers did not get first win of 1996-97 season until Game 6 (0-3-2); did not get their first win of the 1997-98 season until Game 5 (0-0-4); did not get their first win of last season until Game 6 (0-4-1). Thus, a win last night against the Hurricanes would have made for the 0-2-1 Rangers’ best getaway in four years.